Be Your Own Kind of Beautiful

November 25, 2015

This idea started with a poster hung discreetly in a bathroom. I was doing a gig at a church coffeehouse. I took a picture of it and thought what an inspiring message and, as only songwriters can scheme, what a great song title.

It haunted me – what does #BYOKB mean? Well I never claim to have it all figured out. For today, I have 3 thoughts – there are more – but these are the foundation and the first steps on the path we can all take to step more fully into our light. Enjoy – You are Beautiful!

“Maybe Our Difference is Our Strength, what’s the point if we’re all the same…”

Newsflash…. YOU are different. We all are different from each other. Seems obvious right? But at our core, the idea of being different tends to make us uncomfortable. Maybe you have a talent that’s uncommon, Maybe there’s a uniqueness to your physical presence, Maybe you’re passionate about something that the people around you don’t resonate with, Maybe your art isn’t ‘mainstream’ Maybe…(you fill in the blank) What if we Flip the script. What if those things we possess that others don’t have are our gifts? Perhaps your power, your strength and your magic lies in your ‘different-ness’

2.“My Soul Don’t fit that Mold and it’s OK”

Too often we try soooooo hard to fit into the prosaic box that we squeeze out our specialness! Imagine if Nina Simone said, I can’t sing my voice is too low, Or if Prince said, “No one else does it all – sing, produce, play, write dance… so, I shouldn’t try”, Or if great activists just said, “Well that’s the way it is, let’s not try to change things” YIKES! The box ain’t always the best place to be! When we accept the status quo and spend our lives trying to fit “in” we end up leaving out the most important person – Our SELF

3. “Listen to that wild beat inside, Playin’ a rhythm in a unique style”

It’s your intuition, It’s the quiet voice inside you. It’s the thing that scares you, but it can also make you brave. It’s the ‘crazy’ idea you have. The A-ha moment. It’s the thing that someone said you’re not ‘supposed to’ do. It’s the words that get caught in your throat. It’s your true voice. It’s your dreams. It’s your spark.